Paradise Within

Every day is important. What will you do today? A lot of people like to sit down at the end of the day and say, “Let me figure out what I did today.” That’s a little too late.

You wake up in the morning and think, “What am I going to do?” Maybe there are ten thousand things you have to do, but remember one: today I’m going to be content, I’m going to be in peace, I’m going to be in joy. And then do whatever you have to do—all the chores you have, the sad things you may have to do, even the bad things you will have to put up with. But remember one thing: today, I’m going to be content.

You go through your journeys in life, and hopefully, you come out wiser—not lacking something, but with something. That’s what this life has to be, because this is your life. Life is not about saying to somebody, “Look what you did to me.”

You are the captain. This is your life. Enjoy every moment of it. It is incumbent upon you to facilitate that and never, ever—no matter what comes in your life—to forget it. You are unique. No one ever has or ever will be able to express the joy of this heart the way you do. Your hard times will pass, but the most important thing is your focus. When a person walks on a tightrope, through the entire journey from the beginning to the end, where is their focus? Are they thinking, “How much further do I have to go?” “How far have I been?” No. Their focus is on only one place: their balance. If their focus wavers, they will fall.

In our lives, we’re walking a tightrope, too. Each day that goes by will never come back. It’s gone. That makes some people sad. And some people say, “If that’s really true, then every day is important.” And it is. Every day is important.

Contentment has nothing to do with all those things that go on during the day. It really doesn’t. When clarity isn’t there and the focus isn’t straight, everything matters—even red lights. “Look at this, I’m getting every single red light. Not one single green one.” And when the clarity is there, it’s another moment to remember something important.

This life is not about red lights and green lights or the bad things that happen. Regardless of all the bad, if there are more things that are good in your life, then it is good. So, for you, is it good or is it bad? There is one thing that tips the balance, and that’s your clarity. If you are clear, then the sum of all the good things put together is better than the sum of all the bad things. And good it is.

A coconut floating in the ocean doesn’t say, “How come there are waves?” It uses what it has been given. So, let there be waves. Probably the coconut gets to a point where it says, “The bigger the waves, the better, because that means I’ll be thrown far inland.” Everything switches; everything turns around. This is how we are meant to be.

There is a paradise within. You don’t need to count all the problems. Just say, “There is all that, but in the middle of it all, there is something so beautiful, so real.” And the real is more real than the fake is fake. Reality is incredible.